The present invention relates to a method for operating a global, virtual call center in accordance with Claim 1.
Call centers are geared to services which are handled by operators/agents. The caller/customer is offered voice and/or data services within the framework of the services of the call center.
These types of process are mostly handled via a central telephone server system. Customers are routed to an operator via a call center system. The operator is connected by telephone to the customer and is available to the customer for the desired service.
A call center for the Internet (ICC) was put into operation by the firm Sitel Corporation and Lucent Technologies. It offers both voice and data via one analog telephone line (see Handlesblatt, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 1998, Hamburg xe2x80x9cCall-Center fxc3xcrs Internetxe2x80x9d [Call Centers for the Internet]). In this context, the target groups are, in particular, the airlines, travel agencies, banks and insurance companies. In the case of the ICC, a customer clicks on a web site in the Internet to initiate a dialog with a call center employee (operator).
Silling J., xe2x80x9cCTI, PIECE BY PIECExe2x80x9d, byte, vol. 22, no. 2 of Feb. 1, 1997, pp. 85-88, describes an approach where an automatic call number identification (ANI) is accessed for incoming connections. If there is an incoming call at a company, the automatic call distribution or the private branch exchange extracts the ANI data, combines them with an internal extension, and transmits the caller information to a CTI server. The CTI server compares the caller identifier and the extension to its database in order to find the correct PC. The CTI server then creates a data record and sends it to a customer database. This data record requires that the customer information belonging to the caller""s call number be routed to the appropriate PC in the company.
Cray, xe2x80x9cMajor Hassles, Major Payoffsxe2x80x9d, Data Communications, vol. 26, no. 3, October 1997, pages 127-130, describes a conventional call center is where hundreds equipped with headsets are connected to a private branch exchange, to which an automatic call distribution (ACD) belongs. An interactive voice-response device (IVR) retrieves a recorded announcement, which prompts the customer to use the telephone keypad to enter precise information on his or her call. The ACD retrieves the customer""s information and uses it to select an appropriate call center agent to process the call. The customer is then serviced by this call center agent.
European Patent Document No. EP-A-0 753 956 describes an approach which is based on a company""s own network (wide area network). In this approach, the customer""s connection is likewise established via the ANI. A host computer has an archive database containing customer data. The customer data are made available to the call center agents. The call center agent can retrieve the customer""s data and request new customer data.
Dresner, S., xe2x80x9cJust pick up your computer and dialxe2x80x9d, Communications News, February 1998, pp. 24-43, describes how to set up communications via Internet telephony within the framework of a call center.
In the known call centers, communication between the servers and the operator workstations is established via LAN connections.
The disadvantage of such networks is that they are not very flexible due to their network structure. Also, due to the need to be constantly connected, they entail high connection costs, particularly in the case of international call centers.
When call centers are operated on an international basis, both the operators as well as the customers can reside all over the world and, thus, belong to different linguistic groups. Communication difficulties can arise, in particular between the operators and customers.
Another drawback is that when an operator switches through a customer via the server, he or she usually does not have any information on the customer that could be used to clearly identify the customer. This is especially problematic when it comes to invoicing the customer for services, since the employees of the call center working as operators, who ultimately process the services for the customers, can work in a different country than the customer, particularly in the case of international call centers.
The object underlying the present invention is to devise a method which will make it possible to operate a call center having operators working all over the world, who are provided with Internet access, PCs with operating systems, conventional web browsers, as well as with communications terminals, and which will enable the connection to be set up from the customer to the operator in accordance with the rules defined in the call center. In the process, the aim is to facilitate the dialog between the customer and the operator, and improve the legal security of the international invoicing process in the service area between the company operating the call center, the operators working for the call center, and the customer.
The present invention provides a method for operating a global call center in which in response to a call from a customer, once the connection between the customer and the call center server is established, specific data are automatically collected for identifying the customer and assigning him or her to a customer group. In the context of the present invention, specific data are understood to be data which make it possible to locally identify the communication terminal and/or to identify the person placing the call for the customer, or to allocate the subscriber terminal to a linguistic group or to another customer group.
In accordance with the present invention, once the connection is established, data are collected, which are useful for identifying the customer making the call. These data include, for example, the identifier of the communication terminal of the customer making the call. The terminal identifier can be used to identify and allocate the terminal of the customer placing the call.
In a further step, the customer""s data are compared to the data of the operators logged on for the call center. This is done by way of a control installation designed as a search routine. The criterion for the comparison can be, for example, a shared language or a specialized field underlying the customer""s query. The result of the comparison described on the above basis is used as baseline information for assigning an appropriate operator to the customer. This search is likewise carried out on the basis of a program in the call center server. When an appropriate operator is found, a connection is established from the call center server to the web browser of the selected operator.